Let a thousand genomes bloom

Bozena Rylka Capon Bridge WV — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:11:52 GMT

It is very interesting. I would like to hear more about this reaserch

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Mark Wakely — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:26:16 GMT

It would be nice to believe that when genome detailing for medical reasons is routine, that information will be tightly guarded. But like identity theft, it might be tempting for some to try to obtain those details for illegal purposes. Insurance companies in particular would find it "useful" to know which of their customers have genetic markers for future diseases and which customers do not. And there are other concerns about genome details being made public- for example, if cancer or some other serious disease is in your future, how might a potential employer take that news? What about a potential spouse? How difficult would it be to get a mortgage or a business loan? Even the psychological impact of knowing some serious medical problem is in the cards would have to be addressed.

Genome detailing could be a great diagnostic tool, but until there are ways to *correct* any defects found- a much more difficult task that’s still far in the future- then knowing what your medical future holds might help you prepare for the inevitable if the news is bad, but having to live with that news might not be worth it if what’s to happen can’t be prevented or cured.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Wayne — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:27:47 GMT

I can think of a few reasons why this shouldn't be done, then again, there are many reasons why it should. On reason would be curing too many people will lead to a severe over-population of the world. Not somewhere I would want to live.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Tom Carter, Chicago — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 22:09:35 GMT

As someone who is actively doing bioinformatics research, there seems to be one very large misconception that the public has of genomics, that a sequenced genome does not imply that we know what everything does.

Simply put a sequenced genome is just a huge collection of A's C's T's and G's. Genomes arn't helpfully annotated by nature to let us know what everything does, that's the truly hard part of genetic research. Genetics isn't so nice as to be straight forward when it comes to correlating data, infact there are usually dozens of interrelated variables contributing to gene expression. This means that while you may have the gene for a greater risk for heart deseise you may also have transcription factors that prevent it from ever coming into play, or annother gene that negates it's effects etc etc. Only the most grand scale genetic disorders such as down syndrome are straightforward to detect. The more data that we get, however, the easier it is to make correlations and deduce functions of sections of the genomes but it still takes far more time than just the sequencing itself.

Still, bravo to this new initiative, the more data we can bank the better. As this data hits the public domain there will be researchers annotating and studying this data for the next few decades.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Frank J. Ujlaki, Winter Haven, Florida — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:02:53 GMT

It seems that knowing the human genome is as informative
as knowing what the score of a football game will be
without knowing the teams opponents.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

jim wilson oakland, tn — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:16:41 GMT

This project could be done much quicker if is utilized available computers around the world similar to a project at SETI@home. As it progresses and major areas of interest are disclosed, these areas could be farmed out separately to speed overall efficiency.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Dennis, Richmond VA — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:26:45 GMT

Detailing is just the first step. Then comes understanding, followed by altering. Genetic cancer risk? Rewrite the code! Just like a computer program, you can eliminate the bugs. Maybe even enhance or add new "features". Exciting and terrifying all at once!

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Mark Wakely — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:24:30 GMT

What worries me besides the potential breach of confidential genome information is the gap that might exist between the time we finally understand what each gene does and our ability to alter or repair faulty genes to prevent diseases. While we're moving forward at a rapid pace to detail the genome- and yes, it's going to take years to understand what each gene does- we have few ideas how to change or modify our genes. Some of the experiments involving viruses designed to introduce "corrections" have not gone well, and the whole field of gene modification is still in its infancy. Not so with genome detailing, which is roaring full speed ahead. The time might come when we can point to a certain sequence of genes in a person's code and know it spells medical trouble in the future for that person, but have no means to prevent that trouble from occurring. In other words, for more than a few people there could be a death sentence staring them in the face when their genome is read, and the question becomes whether you would even want to know what nature has in store for you if nothing can be about it or if ignorance (in this case) is indeed bliss.

By no means should this conundrum stop or even slow down our efforts to detail the genome, but the wisdom of someday reading everyone's genome as some sort of routine "screening" tool is questionable if there aren't methods in place to fix what we find broken.

As for myself, I think I would like to know if I'll develop Alzheimer’s someday or some other incurable genetic disease- just as long as I knew for certain no one else could "discover" that news. Not everyone, I’m aware, would like to know something like that- and that should be their right.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

John Doe — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:30:10 GMT

I want my genes all mapped out and posted on the internet. I want lots of clones... (-:

Let a thousand genomes bloom

a p garcia — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:35:40 GMT

As Mr. Spock would say "INTERESTING".

Let a thousand genomes bloom

Richard Harborne, Calgary Alberta Canada — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:04:59 GMT

This has to be done. We've been manipulating genes ever since our ancient ancestors picked the largest grains, sweetest fruits, most plentiful pulses and planted their seeds to yield better food or how humans genetically weeded out all the poisonous almond trees and started planting and eating the ones that didn't yield poison. The same can be said by the domestication of cows, pigs, chickens, horses to best suit our needs. Now we're drawing a picture with much much more clarity...let's just hope the bible thumpers don't obscure our vision.

Let a thousand genomes bloom

BL, Spokane, WA — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:03:00 GMT

Actually Spock would say, "Fascinating" and it is. I feel sorry for the person above who doesn't want to cure too many people for fear of over population, maybe those people who live will be a bit more productive than they are.